Material sampler



g Aug. 18, 1970 J, MVPA'UL MATERIAL SAMPLER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 21, 1968 JOHN M. PAUL INVENTOR sucxnom 'BLORE, KLARQUIST & SPARKMAN ATTORNEYS Aug.18, 1970 1 *J.M.;PAu1 3,524,352

' MATERIAL SAMPLER JQHN M PAUL INVENTOR BY BUCKHORN; BLORE, KLARQUIST 8. SPARKMAN ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,524,352 MATERIAL SAMPLER John M. Paul, Portland, reg., assignor to Rogers Construction, Inc., Portland, Oreg., a corporation of Oregon Filed Mar. 21, 1968, Ser. No. 714,916 Int. Cl. Gllln 1/00 U.S. Cl. 73-423 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A material sampler which moves a sample bucket with an adjustable upper opening in a straight path through a stream of aggregate or other material falling from the ofibear end of a belt conveyor. The bucket travels beneath the conveyor belt in the longitudinal direction of the belt so as to pick up fine aggregate which clings to the belt as well as coarser aggregate to obtain a true sample. The bucket travels through the stream in one directionwith its opening directed upwardly and through the stream in the opposite direction with the opening directed downwardly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present invention relates to material samplers and more particularly to a sampler of particulate materials falling in a stream from a conveyor belt.

Description of the prior art In road and other construction Work aggregate samples are taken from time to time for quality control. In the past such samples have usually been taken manually simply by passing a bucket across a stream of falling aggregate at the ofibear end of one of the belt conveyors used to transport aggregate from rock crushers at the construction site. Mechanical means have been devised for the same purpose, but these too have passed a bucket through a falling stream of the aggregate in a direction cross-wise to the conveyor belt. True samples of .the aggregate stream are not obtained by such procedures because fine aggregates tend to cling to the belt longer than coarser aggregates and thus such fines tend to leave the belt at a different point more nearly beneath the end of the belt than the coarse aggregates. Usually bucket-type samplers are passed cross-wise through the falling stream at a point where coarse aggregates predominate, thereby missing a large percentage of the fines.

In the past construction has been slowed while adjustments in aggregate mixes have been made to meet specifications when in reality none were required. Thus, inaccurate sampling procedures are time-consuming and costly and can result in aggregate mixes which do not meet specifications.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The problems of the prior art as aforesaid are overcome by the present invention through the provision of a bucket-type sampler apparatus Which passes a sample bucket having a width at least as good as that of the conveyor belt, through a stream of falling aggregate in a direction lengthwise of the belt and beneath the belt so as to obtain a true cross section of the falling aggregate. Means are provided for automatically upsetting the sample bucket after each pass through the stream to deposit the sample and for uprighting the bucket after it returns to its starting position. Means are also provided for adjusting the size of the bucket opening and for reversing the direction of travel of the bucket as it moves beneath a belt conveyor. In accordance with the invention, the bucket reciprocates along a path of travel with its open- 3,524,352 Patented Aug. 18, 1970 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a rock-crushing operation including a belt conveyor utilizing the sampling apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of the righthand portion of the sampling apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of the lefthand end of the sampling apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 3 on a slightly large scale than FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line *55 of FIG. 4 on the same scale as FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION (a) General assembly With reference to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates somewhat schematically a typical rock-crushing operation at, for example, a road construction site wherein a rock crusher 10 delivers crushed aggregate on a belt conveyor 12 to a stockpile 14. A material sampling apparatus shown generally at 16 in accordance with the invention is mounted at the discharge end of the belt conveyor and includes a track means 18 extending longitudinally beneath conveyor 12 and inwardly and outwardly beyond the discharge end 19 thereof. The track means mounts a wheeled carriage means 20 which supports a sampling bucket 22. Carriage means 20 is pulled back and forth in a straight path along the track means and through a stream of aggregate 23 falling from the discharge end 19 by a chain 24 powered by a motor means 26 mounted at the outer end of the track means. Bucket 22 travels in an upright position inwardly beneath the conveyor to receive an aggregate sample and engages an upending means 32 at the inner end of the track means which flips the bucket over the deposit its sample into an awaiting receptacle such as the wheeled receiving wagon 34. Then the bucket returns in its upended position to the outer end of the conveyor where an uprighting means 36 pivots the bucket back to its upright position for receiving another sample.

(b) Details of apparatus Referring now to the more detailed 'views of FIGS. 2 through 5, track means 18 includes a pair of I-beam track members 38, 40 secured to the laterally opposite undersides of belt conveyor 12 in the manner shown in FIG. 1. Each track member supports on its lower flange '42 two pairs of carriage wheels 44, one pair of which is rotatably mounted at each of the opposite ends of two carriage channel brackets 46, 47. Each of the pair of carriage brackets 46, 47 mounts on its underside a bearing member 49 which journals a stub shaft 50 connected at a boss 52 to sampling bucket 22. Thus bucket 22 is capable of horizontal pivoting movement about the axis of stub shafts 50.

As shown most clearly in FIG. 5, sampling bucket 22 includes opposite end walls 54, 55 and opposite side walls 56, 57 hinged at 58, 59, respectively, to a semicircular bottom wall 60. End walls 54, 55 include an enlarged shield portion 62 extending beneath the bottom wall which protects the carriage and drive components from falling aggregate as the bucket travels through the stream of aggregate in an upended condition. A welded bottom angle member 64 depends from bottom wall 60 and shields the bottom wall from falling aggregate during its upended travel.

The hinged connections of the bucket side walls to the bottom wall permit adjustment of the side walls toward and away from one another so as to control the size of the upper aggregate-receiving bucket opening 66. Bucket end walls 54, 55 are provided with slots 68, 69 adjacent their upper ends within which threaded studs 70, 71 Welded to opposite side walls 56, 57 slide and are secured in various adjusted positions by nuts threaded on the studs.

Referring especially to FIGS. 2 and 4, the outer end of one bucket shaft 50 carries a disc 74 having a hub portion 75 secured to the shaft by set screws 76. Disc 74 is provided with four tooth projections, or pegs, 77, 7 8 79, 80 on its outer face. As the bucket travels in its upright position toward the inner end of the track, the lowermost tooth 77 of the disc engages the forward edge of a lower tooth 82 of upending plate 32, shown most clearly in FIG. 3, to start to pivot the bucket on its shaft in a counterclockwise direction. Continued travel of the bucket toward the inner end of the track causes the next adjacent tooth 78 of bucket disc 74 to engage the next tooth 84 of upending plate 32 to continue the counterclockwise pivoting movement of the bucket. Continued travel of the bucket toward the left-hand end of the track causes the next disc teeth 79 and 80 to engage respectively upeuding plate teeth 86 and 88 until the bucket is fully upended as shown in FIG. 3, whereupon the contents of the bucket are dumped into an awaiting receptacle 34.

Bucket disc 74 is provided with peripheral edge notches 90, 91 at 180 degree spaced-apart positions which are alternately engaged by a detent means 93 for maintaining the bucket in either an upright or upended position until acted upon by either upending plate 32 or uprighting plate 36. Detent means 93 includes a cylindrical casing 94 mounted by an angle bracket 95 to carriage channel 46 and a detent pin 96 biased by a spring 97 within casing 93 into engagement with one or the other of disc notches 90 and 91. Detent pin 96 is adjustable toward and away from the disc by threads at its head end engageable with a nut portion 98 of casing 94.

When the sampling bucket travels to the inner end of the track and is upended in the manner just described, it remains in its upended position during its return travel through the falling stream of aggregate until it approaches the outer end of the track as shown in FIG. 2. Then a toothed uprighting plate 36 mounted on track 38 engages the teeth on bucket disc 74 to pivot the bucket back to its upright position. Explaining further, uprighting plate 36 includes a first tooth 101 which first engages disc tooth 77 during outward travel of the bucket to commence a counterclockwise pivoting movement of the bucket on its shaft toward its upright position. Thereafter, continued outward travel causes plate teeth 78, 79 and 80 of the bucket disc to continue the pivoting movement of the bucket until it returns to its upright position.

The left-hand bucket shaft 50 of FIG. 4 carries a brake 108 which is also connetced by a brake arm 109 to carriage channel 47. The brake applies a predetermined frictional force to shaft 50 to retard its tendency to pivot in shaft bearings 49 unless acted upon positively by the upending or uprighting plates. Without such brake the rapid acceleration and deceleration of the carriage at the ends of the track would tend to dislodge the detent pin from the disc notches, thereby possibly causing premature upending or uprighting and uncontrolled swinging of the bucket.

Referring again to FIGS. 2 and 3, bucket drive chain 24 is trained about a drive sprocket 112 on a shaft 113 journaled at the outer end of tracks 38, 40 and about an idler sprocket 114 on a shaft 115 journaled at the inner end of such tracks. The opposite ends of the chain are secured to the opposite ends of carriage channel 46.

Drive sprocket 112 is driven through a chain and sprocket driven from the motor means 26 angularly mounted on a motor platform 117 at the outer end of the tracks. Motor means 26 may be either electrical or hydraulic, but hydraulic is preferable because of its resistance to the shock of sudden carriage stops and starts. In any event, motor 26 must be reversible to reciprocate bucket 22 back and forth beneath the discharge end of the belt conveyor.

Upending plate 32 carries an electrical limit switch 120 having a roller actuator 122 which is engaged by an outwardly projecting flange 124 on the outer face of carriage channel 46 when the carriage reaches the inner end of the track. The limit switch serves to shut off motor 26 and thereby retain the bucket in its upended condition until the motor is restarted to return the upended bucket to the outer end of the tracks. Thereafter the motor may be restarted manually to return the bucket upended to the outer end of the tracks. As shown in FIG. 2, when the bucket nears the outer end of the tracks, carriage flange 124 engages a roller actuator 126 of a second limit switch 128 carried by uprighting plate 36 to reverse the direction of motor 26 and thereby return the bucket in its upright position to the inner end of the tracks. Thereafter the cycle of operation of the sampling bucket can be repeated through manual actuation of a motor starter button (not shown).

(c) Operation Summarizing the operation of the apparatus, when a sample is desired, motor 26 is started manually to rotate drive chain 24 in a counterclockwise direction, thereby pulling sample bucket 22 in its upended position from its starting position at the inner end of the tracks to the outer end of the tracks. Upon approaching the outer end of the tracks, the bucket is uprighted through engagement of the teeth on bucket disc 74 with the teeth on the uprighting plate 36. At the same time the carriage actuates limit switch 128 to reverse motor 26 and send bucket 22 in its upright position through the falling stream of aggregate and beneath the discharge end of the belt conveyor toward the inner end of the tracks. Upon the bucket reaching the inner end of the tracks with a sample, upending plate 32 upends the bucket to deposit the sample in receiver 34, and limit switch 120 de-energizes motor 26 to end the cycle.

Because the transverse width of the bucket equals or slightly exceeds the effective width of the belt conveyor 12 and travels in a straight path longitudinally of and beneath the discharge end of the conveyor through the falling stream 23 of aggregate, the bucket passes through a full cross section of the flow and thus will receive a true sample of the aggregate being deposited by the belt on stockpile 14. In this regard, the bucket will include in its sample the extremely fine aggregate portions which are usually missed by conventional samplers because of their tendency to cling to the belt at its discharge end. These fines are thus discharged beneath the discharge end of the belt at the left-hand side of the stream 23 shown in FIG. 1.

Moreover, the size of the sample-receiving opening 66 of the bucket is adjusted through the adjustment of the angle of side walls 56 and 57 to receive the quantity of sample desired, depending on the rate of discharge of material from the belt conveyor and the speed of travel of the bucket along the track. It will also be noted from FIGS. 2 and 5 that the bucket in its sample-receiving position is cocked at an angle from the vertical to correspond with the angle of discharge of the majority of the aggregate from the discharge end of the belt.

Although the bucket sampler has been described with respect to collecting aggregate samples, it will be appreciated that the sampler also has other sampling applications for any other particulate materials or items.

Having described what is presently a preferred embodiment of my invention, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the same permits of modification in arrangement and detail.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for sampling bulk material as it falls in a continuous stream from the olfbear end of an endless belt or similar type conveyor defining a generally longitudinally extending conveyor path, said apparatus comprising:

container means having an opening directed upwardly when in its samplereceiving position,

means for transporting said container means in its sample-receiving position through said falling stream in a path generally normal to said falling stream and longitudinally of said conveyor path and beneath said ofibear end of said conveyor,

said means for transporting including means for reciprocating said container means through said stream with said opening directed upwardly when traveling in one direction through said stream and with said opening directed downwardly when traveling in the opposite direction through said stream.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 including means for upsetting said container means following passage of said container means in its sample-receiving position in one direction through said falling stream along a reciprocative path so as to dump a sample from said container means and means for uprighting said container means following passage thereof in the opposite direction along said path in an upside down condition through said stream.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said container means has a bottom wall portion and said means for transporting includes track means for supporting said container means in its reciprocating movement, and shield means on said container means for shielding said bottom wall and said track means from said falling stream during movement of said container means through said streams with said opening directed downwardly.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said container means includes plate-like sidewalls defining an upper sample-receiving opening, at least one of said sidewalls being hingedly connected to a bottom wall of said container means and being pivotally adjustable toward and away from an opposed said sidewall for regulating the size of said opening.

5. Apparatus for sampling bulk material as it falls in a continuous stream from the ofi'bear end of an endless belt or similar type conveyor defining a generally longitudinally extending conveyor path, said apparatus comprising:

container means having an opening directed upwardly when in its sample-receiving position,

and means for transporting said container means in its sample-receiving position through said falling stream in a path generally normal to said falling stream and longitudinally of said conveyor path and beneath said off-bear end of said conveyor,

said means for transporting including track means and carriage means movable back and forth along said track means,

said carriage means mounting said container means,

means pivotally mounting said container means on said carriage means for movement about a horizontal axis,

and pivoting means on said track means operable to pivot said container means at a predetermined position of said container means along said track means.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said pivoting means includes toothed plate means on said carriage means engageable with cooperative stationary toothed means on said track means.

7. Apparatus according to claim 5 including means on said carriage for maintaining said container means in an upright position until acted upon by said pivoting means.

8. Apparatus for sampling bulk material as it falls in a continuous stream from the ofibear end of an endless belt or similar type conveyor defining a generally longitudinally extending conveyor path, said apparatus comprising:

container means having an opening directed upwardly when in its sample-receiving position,

and means for transporting said container means in its sample-receiving position through said falling stream in a path generally normal to said falling stream and longitudinally of said conveyor path and beneath said otfbear end of said conveyor,

said means for transporting including track means and carriage means movable along said track means, means pivotally mounting said container means on said carriage means,

reversible motor means supported on said track means,

motion-transmitting means interconnecting said motor means and said carriage for moving said carriage means along said track means,

means for reversing said motor means at predetermined positions of said carriage along said track means,

and means for pivoting said container means from an upright to an upset condition and from an upset to an upright condition at a predetermined position of said container means along said track means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS r S. CLEMENT SWISHER, Primary Examiner 

